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DiCarlo's Pizza opens in York

Owner Jodi Bauhof brings a taste of her hometown to York.

By LAUREN BOYER

lboyer@ydr.com @laurenboyer on Twitter

Updated:
02/18/2014 07:14:05 PM EST

Joseph Pressoir of York talks to Lacey Eisenhart of Hanover at DiCarlo's Pizza on North George Street in York Tuesday. The grand opening of the shop is today. Pressoir also works at the restaurant. (Kate Penn — Daily Record/Sunday News)

Manager Del Rill spreads sauce on a slice at DiCarlo's Pizza in York Tuesday. DiCarlo's cooks the dough and sauce together and then adds cheese after the pizza is out of the oven. (Kate Penn — Daily Record/Sunday News)

Jodi Bauhof grew up in Ohio ordering pizza by the slice at a family-run restaurant called "DiCarlo's."

There, the slices were square and crispy.

"That's how I grew up," she said.

When she moved to central Pennsylvania more than 20 years ago, she couldn't find anything like it.

Here, the pizza seemed floppy and more triangular.

Each time she traveled home to Ohio, she stocked up on DiCarlo's, a local favorite established in Steubenville in 1945.

"We were bringing back tons of pizzas for everyone," she said.

Fast forward to last year, and Bauhof, a former teacher, was looking for something to do.

She and her husband Ned are parents to three teenagers who attend school during the day.

Around the same time, DiCarlo's Original Pizza had opened its brand to franchising.

It was a no-brainer.

"We bought it," she said.

Next, the couple began scouting potential locations with members of the DiCarlo family.

They searched across York County.

"When we brought them into the city, they were like, 'This is where you have to be,'" Bauhof said.

The space, located at 24 N. George St. across from the York County Judicial Center, took four months to renovate into the franchise's 21st restaurant.

For months, a sign outside teased the new eatery to passersby.

"I've been waiting for it to open," said Glen Davies, an employee of Glatfelter's downtown York office. "This is a nice big city atmosphere."

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Davies ate at the restaurant, which features a modern interior, on Monday. He ate there again Tuesday.

"This is a perfect fit for York," he added. "It's good quality affordable food."

What makes a slice from DiCarlo's different?

Start with the cheese.

It's provolone, instead of mozzarella.

"It's very unusual," Bauhof said, "but the cheese is put on cold after the sauce and crust come out of the oven."

The crust itself is stretched by hand onto a square pan.

"When you bite into the crust, you hear a crunch," said David DiCarlo, whose grandfather started the restaurant.

The DiCarlo family immigrated from Italy in the early 1900s and previously operated a grocery store — and later, a bakery business — in Steubenville, Ohio.

DiCarlo's Original Pizza has since expanded throughout Ohio and West Virginia. The restaurant also has a pizza shop in Pittsburgh and another in Litchfield Park, Ariz.

Members of the DiCarlo family were in York Tuesday training at the new location, which also serves calzones, salads and an Italian baked sandwich.

Everything, from the sauce to the dough, is prepared according to family recipes, Bauhof said.

"We don't open a can of mushrooms," she added. "Everything is prepared fresh."